Letter in Ink
by theforgetfulalchemist
Summary: Piper asks Annabeth about some old pictures of the famous Seaweed Brain in Chiron's office.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: A Percabeth/Annabeth and Piper friendship bonding dabble taking place between The Lost Hero and The Son of Neptune because writing fics is how I deal with hiatuses and I'm excited for House of Hades. Thank you for reading and please tell me what you think!_

* * *

_Tried to take a picture of love. Didn't think I'd miss her that much._

_I wanna fill this new frame, but it's empty._

_Tried to write a letter in ink. It's been getting better, I think._

_I got a piece of paper, but it's empty._

_-The Click Five, Empty_

Piper sighed in annoyance, sipping her hot chocolate.

Leo had been in Bunker 9 for far longer than she thought healthy for him, and while that would normally mean some alone time with Jason, he was currently kidnapped by Leo's brothers and sisters wanting to know how his coin-sword worked.

So she was alone lounging in the Big House, sitting on a comfortable couch by the fire, when a blond girl in an orange t-shirt walked in from the camp grounds holding a mountain of books, files, and loose papers.

"Annabeth" Piper greeted her, getting up. "Thank the gods, I've been so bored."

Piper could swear her eyes became a shade lighter gray as she smiled for the first time in who knows how long.

"Good, because I need help with this." Annabeth said, taking the mug of hot chocolate from Piper's hands and taking a drink. "Chiron wants me to organize this."

Chiron's office was cluttered and cramped, making filing all his stuff a hassle, but Piper figured her friend welcomed the distraction. This was how many months now her boyfriend was missing? Leo had been working hard on the Argo and Piper hoped once he was done they would find this Percy boy.

She forced herself to not think about it and instead study the office. The walls were lined with pictures and as she scanned them and went from the black -and -white to the modern photos, she smiled as she saw a familiar face.

"Hey…is that you?"

Annabeth looked up at the picture she was pointing at. In it a young blond girl had her arm around a black haired boy. They were both grinning broadly.

Her eyes swam and became darker like a tornado growing stronger.

"Yes, that's me."

"And is that…?"

"Mm hm. Gods, I forgot how scrawny he was. Did we ever hate each other."

Piper's eyes sparkled with amusement.

"Really?"

"Well maybe hate is too strong a word, but, yeah. I thought he was the dumbest demigod I had ever met and he thought I was annoying and stuck up."

"You guys look pretty friendly there."

Annabeth blushed lightly, remembering how her crush on him had made her self-conscious having her arm around him taking that picture even if it felt nice.

"After we got thrown into a quest together, I don't know…I guess we just figured we didn't have to hate each other because our parents do, you know? This picture was taken sometime after we got back. We were twelve at the time."

Piper's heart constricted at the thought of them having so much history together: both in hoping it wasn't cut short and in hoping someday in the future she and Jason could point to pictures and say _We were fifteen in that picture! Crazy, right?_

She turned her attention to other pictures and when her eyes landed on another of her friend and her boyfriend the glossy color reveled something interesting to her.

They looked about fourteen, Percy siting at the Cabin Three table and Annabeth sitting in the grass beside him. But what caught her attention was their hair. In both Percy and Annabeth's, there was a streak of gray.

"What happened to your hair? It can't be dyed?"

Somehow she doubted it was. Annabeth didn't strike her as the type to dye her hair, much less do something as sentimental as have matching hair with the boy she liked.

Annabeth unconsciously brushed her bangs.

"No…it happened when we took Atlas' place holding up the world."

Piper decided _that_ was probably too long a story to get into.

"I guess…it's gone now. I always secretly liked it."

Piper wondered if Percy's had faded too and if that was a bad omen. She looked back to the photographs.

"That one looks new."

In it, Annabeth looked the same age as she was now.

Now Annabeth's eyes gleamed with a good memory.

"It is. That was last year, when we had just started dating."

"Why are you soaking wet?"

"Everyone threw us into the lake."

"The lake. He _can_ breathe underwater."

"Clarisse never claimed to be smart."

Both girls laughed, smiling happily at each other.

As they continued working, Piper silently prayed to her mother that Annabeth would find her brave, silly, brilliant, seaweed brained boy soon. She wanted to see her friend smile like that more often.

And somewhere on the other side of the country a gangly black haired boy in a faded-out orange t-shirt woke up from a long sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: The second chapter! I guess I'm just a sucker for writing drabble series-this is the second oneshot I've written to turn multi-chapter. Anyway, I hope you like it and please review! _

"Is that your mom?"

Hazel finally worked up the courage to ask after over a month of seeing that photo over Frank's bed. That morning she had ventured over to his bunk to wake him up for their sentry duty (he had forgotten again) and for whatever reason felt compelled to bring it up.

Frank yawned.

"Ah…yeah." Frank muttered uncomfortably.

"She was gorgeous."

Frank winced at the past tense and Hazel blushed, cursing herself. Didn't he feel bad enough about his mother dying?

Hazel had been surprised to see women serve in the army, not just the legion but modern militaries throughout the world. She felt proud her best friend's (yes, _friend_ she chastised her quickly beating heart) mother died so honorably in service but mostly she just felt horrible for Frank.

"Y'know…" She wavered, sitting next to him on his bed and unconsciously fixing his bedhead. "My mom died too."

"She did?"

Frank had that nervous look he got whenever Hazel talked about herself, afraid he would hit a sore spot and she would clam up.

Hazel wanted to cry. She felt so sorry she couldn't share her past with him because she liked him, she really did. And it hurt to see him like this because she could tell he felt closed off. He probably thought she was distant because she didn't like him but that wasn't it.

"How'd she die?"

"What? Oh…accident, car accident…"

"When was that?"

"Oh, a…last year…not too long before your mother did."

"Oh. I'm really sorry."

Frank made a face like he was biting his tongue for saying something stupid. But Hazel smiled and said

"Thanks, Frank. You too."

"Thanks, Hazel."

"Now get that armor on. We have to be at the gates in five and if Reyna catches us being late again we scrub the stables for a week."

"Okay." Frank said, clumsily pulling a breastplate over his head. "Let's just hope nothing happens on our shift."

"Nothing ever happens on our shift. The whole camp's conspiring to both give us duty together and give us the most boring hours. But at least we can practice French to pass the time." Hazel said as a few miles off a black haired boy was racing to their camp to change it forever.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: To the Guests who I can't thank properly via pm, thank you for the feedback! And again, thank you for reading and please review!_

As Percy busied himself folding clothes in his cabin on the Argo there was a knock on his door.

"Come in!" He called as he stuffed some jeans haphazardly into a dresser.

Frank opened the door.

"Hey, man. Just wanted to let you know we're out of California. Valdez says we're good. For now."

"Well, that's good news. Great mess we're in, huh?"

"You're telling me. I'm just glad Gwen just retired. I don't think I could fight her…she was like a mom to all of us in the fifth."

"I don't want to fight anyone. Except Octavian. I want to punch him in the face. Repeatedly."

Frank snorted.

"So where'd all these clothes come from?"

"Annabeth packed them. I guess my mom raided my room and gave them to her to bring."

Frank's mouth twitched into a smile at how his friend's face lit up at his girlfriend's name. All week he had been rooting for Percy to be reunited with the girl he had been talking so much about. He was glad Percy was so happy now that they were. Frank had decided he liked Annabeth despite her being slightly terrifying. She seemed to genuinely care about Percy and that made her more than alright in Frank's book.

Percy folded another pair of jeans and something fell out of the pocket.

"Oh good, that's where that was. I was afraid it got lost while I was gone."

"What is it…?"

Frank picked it up and saw it was a photo, several years old and with a sliver of tape stuck to the top like it had once been taped to a fridge or notebook paper. It was a photo of a blonde twelve year old girl, smiling and holding a Yankee's baseball cap.

"Is…is this Annabeth when she was little?"

Percy snatched it away, red faced.

"Don't tell her I still have this, okay? It's embarrassing."

"Why? You took it, didn't you? Or she gave it to you?" Frank guessed.

Percy nodded.

"It was taken after camp ended the year we met. She was on vacation with her dad and she sent it to me."

"So why's it so embarrassing if she knows you have it?"

"Well usually when you have a picture of a friend, you put it on a bulletin board or the fridge or something…"

"And you…?"

"…may have hidden it in my notebook because I had a massive crush on her."

Frank smiled.

"Is that why there's tape on it?"

"Yeah. I couldn't get it off when I had to scrap that notebook."

"She seems nice. I'm glad you found her again."

"Thanks, man. But can I ask you…about Hazel…Leo, he…"

"...He looks like that boy. I know."

Frank looked down at his sneakers. Percy put a hand on his shoulder.

"You have nothing to worry about." Percy stated seriously. "Girls can't resist a doofus best friend. Trust me, I should know."

Frank grinned.

"Oh, shut up."

Percy laughed.

"So that was your master strategy for getting Annabeth to date you, was it?"

"Being as annoying as possible was part of it, yeah."

They both dissolved into hysterical laughter until Hedge called everyone up to the deck.

Frank watched Percy stuff the picture into his jeans as they left the room and thought that if what Percy had said was true maybe, just maybe, he had a chance.


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Chapter four! Thank you for reading/reviewing!_

Annabeth typed furiously on Daedalus' computer that was sitting on the desk in Cabin Athena. The world might be ending, Percy was still missing, but that summer book report wasn't writing itself.

With not knowing if Percy was alive for most of the school year, her performance had understandably suffered. She had been called into the headmaster's office and had been asked if there were personal problems at home causing it, but what could she say? _Sorry, my boyfriend was kidnapped by an evil old witch of a goddess so I've been a little preoccupied._ So she had said there was none. This report was her last chance to get her grades up before heading off to find Percy and starting their quest to stop Gaea.

There was also the fact that she needed a distraction. This whole thing was so stressful. What if Gaea murdered them all? What if the Romans did? And though she knew it was silly, what scared her the most…what if Percy had forgotten about her? What if, like Jason, he had gotten himself a new girlfriend while his memories were gone?

"Annabeth! Annabeth! Hey_, Sis_!"

Malcolm had been calling to her from the front door but she had been paying too much attention to the assignment and her worries to hear.

"What is it, Mal? I'm kinda busy."

"Jason's here for you."

"What?"

Jason was standing in the cabin's front doorway, looking sheepish outlined by the night sky buzzing with insects, illuminated by the cabin's porch light.

"May I come in?"

"Sure. What is it?" Annabeth asked, putting her work away.

"Sorry to interrupt…"

"Eh, it's just a book report. Not high on the priority list at the moment."

"Leo just dropped by Cabin One and told me the Argo is ready to sail anytime. We can leave for Camp Jupiter tomorrow."

"That's great!"

"I sure hope this Percy guy of yours really is at my camp."

"You and me both."

Jason suddenly noticed a photo tacked to the bulletin board above the desk. Being senior councilor meant Annabeth had complete control of what went on it and she had chosen to put a picture of Luke, Thalia and herself smack in the middle.

"Hey, that's my sister." Jason commented.

"Oh yeah! We took that just outside Virginia. Some tourist asked us to take some photos for him and he took one of us when we were done."

In it a seven year old Annabeth was frozen in laughter as Luke carried her on his shoulders. Thalia was grinning broadly as she clutched Luke's arm.

"Thalia thought it was the greatest thing ever. I remember being kind of scared so high up on Luke's shoulders."

Jason eyed Thalia's grip on her friend wearily.

"They didn't…I mean, were they…?"

"Oh. Yeah. I always denied it though, because…"

Annabeth stopped herself. Why was she talking about this? She didn't even fully trust Jason. She figured it was because it had been so long since she had a private conversation with someone, so long since she had snuck away with Percy during camp or took the subway to his apartment just to talk.

"Because you had a crush on him?" Jason guessed.

Annabeth glared at him.

"Sorry."

"No, it's alright. I just try to forget that. I mean, he was way older than me, he had Thalia, and he tried to kill Percy, so…"

"Jupiter alive, he _did_?"

"Like I said. Sore spot."

"I'm sorry." Jason said again. "But then, what about Percy?"

Annabeth smiled.

"I tried to forget _that_ too."

"But…?"

"Turns out he was just too loud and obnoxious to ignore."

Annabeth's eyes glazed over in happy reminiscence; from watching Percy drool as he slept on his first day at camp and thinking he was kind of cute to kissing him under the lake. He had always been hard for her to ignore.

She snapped out of it as she caught Jason smirking.

"None of that matters, though." She said hastily, coughing in embarrassment. "Go tell the others about the ship, okay?"

"Okay. I didn't mean to pry, I just kind of want to know what this kid is like if we're facing Gaea with him. And I figured nobody knows him as well as you."

He used present tense and Annabeth appreciated that.

"He's going to be alright." Jason said. "Camp Jupiter is friendly. Strict, but friendly. If he made it there, and I'm sure he did, he's alright, I guarantee it."

"Thanks, Jason."

As Jason left to tell Piper the Argo was ready, Malcolm looked up from the philosophy textbook he was reading on his bed.

"Looks like your boyfriend's not a goner after all. And here I thought I missed my chance to throttle him for messing with my sister."

"Oh shut up, Mal."

Annabeth returned to her paper and paused to look up at a beautiful full moon out the window. All she could think about was Percy. And across the country, in a much more crowded camp cabin, he stared at the same moon thinking of her.


	5. Chapter 5

Leo gripped the Argo's steering wheel bitterly. They had lost them. _No_, he corrected himself, _he_ had lost them. Percy and Annabeth were in the deepest cavern in hell because of him. The boy who had saved Jason's camp. The girl who had helped him, Jason and Piper even though they were random stupid kids and not the boyfriend she was looking for. Gone. And it was his fault. Hazel and Nico had said they were alive, but something told him their being in Hazel's dad's domain wouldn't save them.

"Val, er—Leo…" A voice called from behind him. Leo turned around and saw Frank looking at him awkwardly.

"Hey, man. This isn't your fault, okay?"

"Tch. And Archimedes' death ray was built by a Roman."

"He missed her so much."

"What?"

"Percy. He remembered Annabeth the whole time he was with us at our camp."

A lump formed in Leo's throat as he recalled how…he hated to use a machine term for a human, but _broken_ Annabeth had been when he met her. Again, he felt his heart go out to her.

"He thought it was so cool we had a city." Frank continued. "I think…I think he was kind of hoping it meant someday when they got older he could marry her."

_Oh gods, really? _That piece of information made him feel _loads_ better.

Leo turned on Frank and continued to steer silently.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel worse." Frank said. "My point was just…they wouldn't have wanted to be apart. That's why they fell together."

"_As long as we're together_."

Nico walked out of the shadows to join the boys.

"That's what she said." He elaborated. "When they fell. They chose to go together and believe me, they wouldn't blame any of us for that."

Great. That made them _both_ feel worse.

"Trust me, I've known them since I was little." Nico said. "I know how they think."

He retreated back to the cabins.

Leo and Frank stood in uncomfortable silence. Feeling like his plan to cheer Leo up failed, Frank huffed and turned to leave. But his face softened as he saw a photo, framed and placed lovingly on an end table where Leo could see it as he steered.

"Hey, that's you and your mom, huh?"

"Wha…? Oh, uh huh."

Frank sat down on the deck.

"I wish I could have brought the picture of _my_ mom I have back at camp. Annabeth has a picture of her dad in her room and I bet it makes her feel better, but with the way we left Camp Jupiter..."

"Wow you are just pouring the salt on the wounds today, aren't you?"

Frank winced.

"Sorry, I'm trying to be nice, honest. I mean, we shouldn't fight, Percy and Annabeth need us now."

"Yeah…yeah, you're right."

"Percy saved our camp like it was his own home and Annabeth took you guys in. We owe it to them to get along."

"Yeah, we do. So, uh…what was your mom like…?"

Frank beamed.

"She was the greatest mom ever!" He said. "Even though Grandmother was so mean to her growing up, Mom was never mean to me. What about yours? She looks like she was pretty cool."

"Oh she was! Best mechanic in Huston. Couldn't have been prouder of that. I wanted to be her when I grew up."

"Yeah. Me too."

"I still do."

"Yeah. Me too."

They smiled.

Leo decided then and there he wasn't going to let Percy and Annabeth die. They would live to get married and see their children talk about their parents like he and Frank were now. They _all_ were. Even Coach and Hazel's creepy brother. Nemesis had said there was balance in the world. Leo and Frank's mothers had died but maybe that meant they would live and their kids wouldn't suffer like they did.

Frank slumped into a lawn chair and started dosing and Leo gripped the wheel with determination as the sun slowly rose in the sky.

_A/N: Chapter five, featuring reconciling!Frank and Leo and Nico back to his creepy brooding ways. Thank you for reading and thank you so much for the reviews/follows/favs!_


	6. Chapter 6

They knew they had to do it eventually.

Somewhere in a small village a few miles outside Rome the now five demigods of the prophesy, Nico, and Hedge located a payphone. It was the safest way.

Hedge didn't even have to volunteer. He silently walked up to the phone and dialed.

"Blofis-Jackson residence. Paul Blofis speaking."

"Mr. Blofis, hello. My name is Gleeson Hedge. Is your wife home?"

"Yes, she is. What is this about?"

"Tell her I am a friend of the forest. She'll know what I mean."

"…alright."

Nobody knew if Percy's stepfather was in on the demigod thing. Annabeth would have known.

"Mr. Hedge?" A woman's voice came on the phone. "Are you a satyr?"

"Yes'm. I'm chaperoning an important quest your boy is…_was_ on."

"Percy! He's okay? What do you mean, 'was'?"

Hedge told her what happened. Sally listened stoically and finally said

"Can I speak to Annabeth? She must be beside herself."

"Actually, ma'am…Chase, also…"

Hedge could almost see the bitter smile on the other side of the line.

"Of course. They wouldn't have wanted to be apart."

"You see?" Frank hissed to Leo. Hazel nudged him.

"Thank you so much for telling me this, Gleeson."

"Absolutely. If there's anything I can do…"

"Tell Nico I send him my love. Make him eat more, he's too thin."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"I'll call the Chases and tell them the situation. I don't think you want to repeat this unpleasantness."

"That's much appreciated, ma'am. Mm hm. Of course. Good bye. Oh, and Sally? I swear on Pan's grave we will get them back."

"Wow, Coach, you were actually really nice." Piper said as he put the receiver back.

"Shut your yap, McLean."

"Yes, Coach."

In New York City, Sally put her home phone down. She exhaled deeply, trying not to cry.

She concentrated on a photo of Percy when he was twelve, sitting in the grass at camp laughing uproariously. Annabeth was sitting close to him, her head out of her book to grin tenderly at him.

She remembered teasing Percy about Annabeth when he came home that summer, saying he had a new girlfriend. She remembered watching their relationship bloom over the years until she could say with confidence he was head over heels in love with the girl.

She had been so excited when Percy had blushingly told her they were a couple, asking to borrow the car for a first date after camp was over last year.

She could always say she knew he felt strongly for her, but now she knew he would go to hell for her.

If by some miracle her daily prayers were answered and they were returned to her, she swore she would see them married if it killed her.

That cheered her up a little.

She dried her eyes, called Paul over to the room and picked up the phone again to dial the Chase house.

"Fredric…? I'm afraid I have some bad news…"

_A/N: This chapter is assuming during The Mark of Athena, Sally knew Annabeth was going to Camp Jupiter to find Percy but didn't know if they found him or not. I don't know if there will be a scene where they tell her about Percy and Annabeth falling into Tartarus in House of Hades or if they won't want to worry her, but I wanted to take a crack at the idea. (now that I think about it, maybe Grover will find out from the empathy link and tell her)_

_Anyway, thank you for reading/reviewing, ect.!_


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: More Piper and Annabeth friendship because I think that's my favorite thing about Piper's character. Thank you for reading/reviewing, ect.!_

Annabeth heard a knock on her door. The hinges squeaked open without her answering as she was tying her hair back, facing the other wall.

Only two people would do that and one was currently asleep, healing from a hoof to the head.

"Hi, Piper."

"Hey."

Piper strode over and sat next to her on the bed. She smiled at her friend wrestling with her hair.

"Want some help?"

"Thanks. My hair never does what I want it to."

"Don't be silly. You never have a bad hair day."

Piper bunched the bright yellow locks together and tried to thread it through the hair tie.

"So, I'm sorry." She said.

"For what?"

"For the disaster that was my Kansas plan. The last thing you need is Percy leaving and coming back unconscious. Considering the past few months, that cannot be great on your sanity."

Annabeth laughed.

"It's gotten to the point over the years that if he comes back at all, I'm alright."

Piper ran her hands through her friend's hair and smirked.

"Regular charmed life. But I mean, when the guys were possessed, I…"

"You what?"

Annabeth looked behind her shoulder at Piper, smiling.

Piper bit back her words. How could she admit this to the best friend she had ever had? _I almost let my boyfriend kill yours to save him, sorry about that!_

No, she couldn't say it. She feared Annabeth would hate her forever if she did. She had once thought, when she had met Annabeth, that she didn't want the girl as her enemy. Now that they were friends, she felt that way even more strongly.

"Y'know what… never mind."

"Oh…okay."

Piper could see the gears running in Annabeth's mind and feared she had figured it out.

Annabeth said she had no godly powers, but Piper was convinced she possessed near mind-reading capabilities.

"Just, I hope we all get home in one piece, you know?"

_Like for instance, without sacrificing possessed boyfriends?_

"To be honest, I kind of miss my dad." Piper confessed. "I know that makes me sound like a stupid little kid, but I do."

"That's not stupid at all." Annabeth told her.

Piper gestured to the picture of Annabeth's father she had in her cabin, the one with him and his old plane.

"Your dad looks awesome! Did he really fix that thing up himself?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes but grinned.

"Yeah, using Celestial Bronze. Because he refuses to ever be normal."

"I bet you miss him."

"Eh." Annabeth shrugged. "I've missed him since I was seven. Even when I moved back home after running away, he never had the most time for me."

Piper could relate to that.

"It's not his fault, though. He loves us all a lot but he works so much and I have little brothers who have to come first."

"Heh, I _wish_ my dad had the 'you have little siblings' excuse."

They both laughed.

"I mean, how do you put up with it?" Piper continued, only half-joking.

"I guess with my dad, I can kinda understand because I'm the same way. Athena kids are always in their own heads."

"That sounds like it could get annoying."

"Very annoying. It drives Percy nuts, too."

"What, because you ignore him?"

Annabeth grinned again.

"I'm a pretty useless girlfriend that way."

"You just spent the last half year not resting until you found the guy. I think you lost the right to call yourself a bad girlfriend pretty much ever again."

"Thanks, Piper."

Piper remembered how much she had admired Annabeth for being so determined in looking for Percy, how she felt so connected to him she just _knew_ in her heart he was alive, waiting for her. Piper had also admired how patiently Annabeth had handled the situation.

Now she found herself admiring how she handled her home life. Her father not only had work keeping him occupied like _her _dad, but essentially a whole other family she wasn't fully a part of. At least, Annabeth didn't _feel_ a part of it. And she bore it with nonchalance. Meanwhile, Piper had stolen so much she had gotten sent to reform school to get her dad's attention.

She promised herself that when Leo called another random provisions stop (he just wanted comics and snack food the magic table wouldn't provide) she would try to find a video rental store and get a movie poster featuring her dad and put it in her room. No matter how stupid he looked.


	8. Chapter 8

Percy flopped down on the couch, turning the TV on with the remote in a huff. Annabeth had taken the kids to see a fencing tournament in the next town over, but he had a sword fighting class to teach down at camp in an hour. He was stuck at home. Extremely bored.

The Hephaestus channel was airing a daylong marathon of a documentary series about the Cyclops' metalworking, which Tyson would enjoy but Percy was not.

_Leo really needs to punch his dad in the face for me _he thought.

He was starting to think the fire in the fireplace was more interesting. It was at least mesmerizing and therefore kept his attention, rather than making him want to jump into Tartarus again.

_Okay, no repeating THAT mess_.

He stared at the fireplace, a wedding gift from Hestia which was no different from the TV as the documentary was showcasing the furnaces. His attention wandered to the large photo hanging above it.

It was a glossy print of a picture taken on his and Annabeth's wedding day.

Gods, did he look stupid with the combination of tuxedo (mandated by his mother), armor (mandated by Chiron) and Praetor cape (expected by the Roman guests, enforced by Hazel). But he had felt like the luckiest man alive anyway. Not many demigods could say they were marrying their middle school best friend/high school girlfriend. But there she was holding his hand in the forefront of the frame, absolutely beautiful and his.

He smiled, remembering the day seventeen years ago like it was yesterday.

The picture had been taken in the evening. They were standing with their friends, the five other demigods of the prophesy, a firework in the shape of the Argo going off in the background.

_Man, Frank and Hazel weren't even done with their service yet _he recalled, seeing them embracing in the photo. Seven marks lined the tattoos on their arms.

Leo had that mad look in his eyes he still had today as he smiled wildly in the photograph. Jason, to Percy's eternal jealously, looked infinitely better in his praetor cape as Piper leaned on his shoulder.

Grinning to himself, Percy turned his gaze to the myriad photos placed on the mantle just under it.

He smiled tenderly at the one of his first son, the day he was born. Annabeth was lying tired but ridiculously happy on the hospital bed while Frank was taking his turn holding him. Percy sat on the bed next to her as they both watched their friend cradle their new baby son. Jason had refused to hold the boy, saying he was scared he'd drop him. Percy had teased him for it as his own son was due in four months at the time.

Percy and Annabeth had made the mistake of letting Percy's mother name him. She decided to call him Odysseus, because that was Athena's beloved hero. Or because "Perseus" hadn't been enough damage.

Many of the other photos were like a time-lapse slideshow of Odysseus growing up. There was one of him still in diapers, playing in the sea (Percy had instilled a love of water in him). Being read his first Dr. Seuss book (Annabeth had imparted to him her love of reading as well). Holding his baby sister when he was a toddler. Blowing out the candles on his most recent birthday, his fifteenth. Bringing his girlfriend home for the first time. Trying to read dressed in his armor after a game of capture the flag as Jason's boy was giving him a nuggie decked out in his high school football uniform.

Percy tore himself out of his memories. He palmed riptide, ready to go trash a few teenagers with it in class, when the phone rang.

"Hi Dad, it's me."

"Odie, are you on a cellphone? Your mother's told you a million times, emergencies only."

"Mom said it was okay. She told me to tell you your team's winning 'cause you have a bet on the tourney with Uncle Jason."

"…Odie, when you meet a girl like your mother, you marry her. You marry her immediately."

"Whatever you say, Dad. Anyway, I gotta go, the match is getting real good! Uh, Mom said not to eat the pie in the fridge until after dinner and that we're having pizza."

"Great! I'm off to teach a class anyway."

"Okay, see you at home, Dad."

"See ya. Love you."

"Yeah, you too, Dad."

Percy uncapped Riptide, put on some armor and walked out the door. He couldn't wait to get back to eat that pie and hear about that match.

_A/N: Because all I want out of the last book's epilogue is Percy and Annabeth having a happy family like Percy imagined. This chapter is speculative, but I hope you enjoyed it! The wedding photo is based off my one shot Something Blue. Check it out if you'd like!_

_Thank you for reading, reviewing, ect.!_


	9. Chapter 9

"You guys will not believe what I found in Piper's stuff." Leo announced as he slammed a large ledger on the Argo's dining table.

The other demigods stared blankly.

He had declared an emergency meeting that night. Because Hedge seemed to believe it was about murdering things, Leo had sent him to watch TV in his room.

"This is what you called us out here for?" Frank deadpanned.

"What in heck is it?" Percy wondered.

"Why were you in my room?" Piper asked.

"Reasons. Anyway, to answer your question, Percy…behold!"

Leo flipped the book open dramatically, revealing dozens of photographs with notes of names, dates and events scribbled everywhere.

"It's an old photo album with illegible scribbles." Frank said. "So what?"

But Piper groaned and lightly banged her forehead on the table.

"Leo! Why did you have to show them that? It's embarrassing, I hate it."

"What is it?" Jason asked her.

Annabeth whistled appreciatively.

"I know what that is. I only saw it once before. I guess it makes sense you inherited it now that you're Head."

Piper nodded miserably, blushing.

"The thing is pure evil, but I thought if I brought it at least Drew can't use it for crazy and or maniacal plans."

Percy raised his eyebrows.

"Photo albums are evil…?"

"This one is." Piper said.

"Percy, this is The Big Relationship Book." Annabeth explained. "It details every potential match, every couple, every breakup _ever_ in camp, and it belongs to the Head of Aphrodite Cabin."

"What? No!" Hazel scoffed. "They really keep tract of everything?"

"Oh yeah." Annabeth assured her. "Once, when I was a kid, I stole it to read, right? They are scary good. They predicted The Great Breakup Disaster of 2007 three years before it happened."

Percy's eyebrows shot up higher.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Well, glad to know our camp's not the only one with people that insane." Hazel said as she pulled the book closer to examine, thinking of how the entirety of Camp Jupiter insisted she and Frank should date.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Frank asked.

"Oh, nothing." Hazel said quickly. "That's beside the point anyway, because this means…"

She leafed through the pages until finding a picture of two familiar figures with black and blond hair smiling by a lake.

"…Percy, Annabeth, you two are in this thing!"

Everyone was suddenly much more interested. Their mild curiosity or boredom turned to knowing smirks.

"What?" Percy cried, grabbing the book from a laughing Hazel.

It was Annabeth's turn to groan and acquaint her head with the table.

"Holy…we really are in here! Annabeth, did you know about this?"

"No." Annabeth responded, looking up from planting her face to the table. "The last time I saw it, you hadn't even come to camp yet. In fact, it was a few days before you did."

"Hey, this is from after the Titan War, when we were at the lake. There was no camera there. No one took a picture there."

"Percy, you don't comprehend how insanely good they are."

"Hey, there's Dan Richards and Jessica Tate, I remember them from my first year! They're off at college now, I think."

"Hey isn't that Rogers, the Apollo kid?" Jason asked, pointing to another picture.

Annabeth snorted.

"Look, there's Clarisse with Chris."

"Not the dating type?" Frank guessed from Annabeth's amusement.

"Not the human interaction type." She answered.

"Your sister, man." Percy informed him. "Have fun."

Frank gulped and Percy laughed.

"We aren't in it, are we?" Jason suddenly shot at Piper, distressed.

"Of course not! I've never written in it! It's mainly a reference book to mess with people's lives."

Jason only looked more horrified.

Percy guffawed at his face until he saw a picture that chilled him.

Silena and Beckendorf.

"Oh. Not so fun anymore."

"Who are they?" Hazel wanted to know, inspecting their photo.

"The old Aphrodite and Hephaestus Heads." Annabeth said.

"They um…they died." Leo told her.

"And they were dating?"

"Yeah. " Percy said. "Man, Beckendorf wouldn't stop talking about her. He always said how lucky he was. Who knew the big dude was a sap?"

"And Silena was always talking about him." Annabeth replied. "Even Clarisse was happy for them, even if it was for such a short while."

"Yeah, well…" Piper huffed, closing the book and hefting it off the table. "That may be part of why we have this, I guess. Because it ends like that so often. We hold on to the happiness we get, y'know?"

"Or you're evil." Leo put in.

Piper shrugged.

"Eh, fifty-fifty."

_A/N: I am fairly certain the idea of Aphrodite Cabin having a book to keep track of relationships is from the Tumblr blog percyjacksonheadcanons, to give credit as I have the feeling I found the idea there, I just don't remember clearly. I just like the concept and wanted to do a chapter on it._

_Thank you for reading/reviewing, ect.! (also apparently this story's in a community now? That's kinda cool!)_


	10. Chapter 10

Reyna sat in the Praetor office keeping herself occupied by doing paperwork that didn't really need finishing and eating jellybeans from the bowl.

She had had the shock of her life. A new boy named Percy Jackson had shown up at camp and even though he was older, taller, and had no memory of himself, she would recognize him anywhere.

The boy who destroyed her home.

What in the world was going on?

She had always wanted to know where he had come from. And the girl who had been with him…she was pretty sure that had to be Annabeth, the girl he had mentioned remembering. His girlfriend.

A small part of her was strangely disappointed at him remembering that.

She sighed.

_I just miss Jason, that's all._

She turned her head to the wall where portraits of Praetors hung. There was one of her and Jason in identical capes, grinning at each other in their Praetor chairs as if to say _We did it!_

She looked back at her desk where there stood a framed photo of her and Jason as kids, when she had come to camp four years ago and they had become friends.

She missed him so much.

If Percy's one memory was right and Annabeth was his girlfriend she must be as heartbroken as Reyna herself was, holding out that maybe, just maybe, he would return to her.

_The only difference is he's waiting for her too. _she thought bitterly.

Another small part of her realized Jason didn't feel the same way about her. That he loved her as a friend and respected her as a colleague, but nothing more.

She hadn't needed Venus to tell her that.

But she had always held out hope she could change that. People changed, after all. She had. Dramatically. Four years ago she was not a leader or a warrior. Was it so outlandish Jason could grow to love her?

She was worried she had lost her chance. He had been gone for months.

And yet here Percy was. Was it possible Jason could miraculously appear again, too? She had thought Percy was out of her life forever. Maybe there was hope.

She knew that wasn't likely. If Jason returned, that was no guarantee he would see the light and decide she was the one for him. Whereas with Percy, if he regained his memories and went home, a loving girlfriend was presumably waiting for him.

Again, a small part of her wished that wasn't true.

She sighed once more grumpily, flinging paperwork onto her desk.

"I'll do this tomorrow." She grumbled to herself.

She shut the lights off and walked into the quiet, cold night to her house and towards another day of praying Jason was alive. But tomorrow it would also include talking to Percy Jackson and finding out where in the name of the gods he was from.

_A/N: Because the unrequited relationships in these books make me sad. Yes, I know Reyna doesn't necessarily NEED a guy, but the fact still remains it sucks she was rejected by two boys one of which she was heartbroken over thinking he was dead and then he comes back with a girlfriend. Not that any of that was Jason's fault, it's just a sucky situation for her._

_Anyway this is the tenth chapter milestone! Yay! Thank you for reading reviewing, ect.!_


	11. Chapter 11

Nico skulked down the Argo's hallway, lost in thought. The last few hours since he was rescued were a roller-coaster ride and his head was spinning. He was desperately trying to think about how they could get to the Doors of Death as quickly as possible when he heard miserable retching from Hazel's room.

He smiled thinly and knocked on the door.

"Sis?"

More retching answered him.

He pushed the door open and found Hazel hunched over a wastebasket, looking pale.

He sat on the bed next to her, brushed her hair away and rubbed her back.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Better…better." She gasped, wiping her mouth.

Nico was glad he left Leo busy at the Argo's wheel and that Frank was asleep. He didn't particularly care for how either looked at his sister.

"Nico…I've been thinking." Hazel continued, kicking the trashcan under her bed. "What if I asked Dad for help? You know, with the Doors of Death."

"What?" Nico cried, alarmed. He grabbed her shoulders. "Hazel! Hazel, look at me. No. You can't. He'll have to make you go back if you do that!"

"Okay, okay! It was just a thought. I just…don't know what to do anymore. Next to Frank, Percy is the best friend I ever had …it wouldn't be fair if they died now, when they just found each other again."

"I know. I'll get them back. I promised. But I won't lose another sister in the process."

"Okay. I understand." She said softly, after a pause. "No sacrifices, got it. Just don't tell Frank about this, it will only upset him."

Nico scowled.

"Yeah, I bet."

Hazel grinned and punched him lightly on the arm.

"I'm serious! When we were in Alaska and I thought I'd have to go back…well, he was more broken up about it than I was."

Nico's sour face softened.

"Oh."

"So go easy on him, alright?" She said jokingly. "He's a really good guy."

"I know. I'm just trying to look out for you. As your brother. It's what I would have done…"

"…It's what you would have done for Bianca."

There was a tense silence.

Nico knew Hazel felt inadequate, almost ashamed, as though she would never live up to Bianca.

He put a hand on her shoulder.

"…Hey. Have I ever shown you what she looked like?"

Hazel shook her head.

Nico dug in the pocket of his aviator's jacket and extracted a photo from the middle of a deck of Mythomagic cards.

It was a photograph of Bianca taken for picture day at the school she and Nico were attending before being taken to camp. Her hair was brushed sleek and tied back perfectly in a ponytail. She smiled radiantly. Like Hazel, she didn't seem like a child of the Underworld .

"She was beautiful."

"She was the best sister I could ask for. And so are you."

He hugged her.

"That's why I don't want to lose you. And why I'm not letting Percy down. He looked after both my sisters. So I'm saving him."

"And…you like Annabeth."

Nico gulped but nodded miserably.

"Can I ask…what happened with Percy and Bianca?"

Nico sighed.

"Few years ago, Annabeth got captured by the Titians, right? My sister was picked for a quest to stop them at the time. Only Percy wasn't chosen, so he sneaked away from camp to go too. He thought nobody else cared Annabeth was in trouble."

Hazel thought about how Percy worried himself sick over Annabeth taking her quest for Athena alone. She knew it was because she was his girlfriend but now she realized it was also because he had lost her before. She could tell they were used to being a team and Percy felt helpless and lost if she was forced away from him.

"Before he left, he promised to bring my sister back to me, but…I never saw her alive again."

"That's awful! Percy must have felt so guilty."

If he had felt so personally responsible for her and Frank after knowing them for a few days, she couldn't imagine how obligated he felt for a friend he promised someone he'd protect.

Nico smiled ruefully.

"He did. But I didn't see that. I only saw how bitter and angry I was he didn't keep his promise."

"You were mad at Percy?"

"And may have tried to kill him, yeah."

"You what."

"The point is" Nico said quickly, "Bianca died asking him to look after me for her. And even though I went sort of insane, he never, _ever_ stopped keeping that promise. So now it's my turn to keep a promise for him."

"That's great of you Nico, I…"

Hazel closed her mouth abruptly and put her hand up for him to wait a minute. She hurriedly dragged the trashcan back out and immediately threw up in it.

"Ugh…It had to be a boat…Leo, I will hate you forever."

"Actually, it's more of a ship…"

"Shut up, Nico."

Nico laughed.

"Speaking of Leo, I should check in on him. He's been steering for a long time." He said, getting up.

"Alright. Good night, Nico."

"Night, Sis. Oh wait, I know."

Nico reached into his pocket again.

"Here, have this."

He held a small plastic figure of a man in his hands.

He put it on the built-in shelf on the wall above the bed.

"You can't ask Dad for help, but _I_ can. Gods sometimes protect against seasickness. I don't know if action figures count as worshiping statues, but maybe this with ease your stomach."

"Is that…supposed to be Dad?"

"Doesn't look like him, does it? But yeah. Bianca gave it to me."

"And you're okay with leaving it here?"

"Of course. You're my sister."

"…Thanks, Nico."

"Anytime, Sis."

_A/N: I love Nico and Hazel's brother-sister thing, so happy he has a sister again! I do think he's going to be the stereotypical over-protective big brother toward the boys because he's a grumpy old man like that._

_Thank you guys for reading/reviewing, ect.!_


	12. Chapter 12

"Can you believe it?" Hazel cried over the wind as she hung onto Arion's neck. "Last furlough day of our service!"

Frank nodded nauseously, clinging to her waist.

The tattoos on their arms sported nine lines. In a few days, Hazel's would add one more, freeing her from serving in the legion. A few months after that, Frank's would do the same.

This was the last day off from duty scheduled until then. They had decided to use the time to visit Frank's hometown up in Canada, which wasn't hard with the fastest and foulest mouthed horse ever.

Arion stopped in front of an iron gate surrounding a yard. Up a sidewalk inside it a little ways, the Canadian flag flew on a flagpole. Surrounding the flag were headstones.

The local military graveyard.

Frank took Hazel's hand and they walked inside in silence. He attempted to ignore Arion's _Try anything funny with her and you're toast_ look.

"Hi there, Frank." The caretaker, and old man shoveling snow off the walk greeted them. "Here to see your old mom?"

"Yeah, Van."

"Well, same place."

"Thanks."

They made their way to a small corner of the cemetery where a white grave stood in the middle of a row of identical ones.

It read:

Captain Emily Zhang

February 3rd 1972- March 15th 2010

Mother, Daughter, Comrade, Friend

Fallen in the line of duty

Taped to the gravestone was a photo of her Frank had put there on her last memorial day. Unlike the picture he kept on his bunk, she was wearing her uniform and saluting briskly.

Her eyes were still warm, though.

Frank took out a bowl and some oranges from his backpack. He arranged the oranges in a pyramid in the bowl and retrieved sticks of incense from a side pocket. He stuck them in the ground but didn't light them.

He closed his eyes in prayer but opened one to see Hazel smirking at how seriously he took the ritual, knowing he didn't believe in it.

"What? I know for a fact Grandmother would haunt me forever if I skipped this stuff."

"I know, I know." Hazel laughed, throwing her hands up in surrender.

Frank opened both his eyes again.

"Hey, Mom. I miss you."

Hazel hugged him from behind.

"I can't believe it's been almost ten years." Frank said.

"I know." Hazel answered. "I remember the day you came to camp. Heh, you looked so young, I thought we were the same age. I was so surprised when you told me you were about to turn sixteen."

"Yeah, and I was so surprised such a beautiful girl was talking to me I fell off my bunk."

Hazel laughed.

"I remember that!"

"Of course you do." Frank said grouchily.

Hazel kissed him.

"Well, I for one was happy our cohort was getting such a good looking new probie. With Jason gone, it was about time, right?"

"Hey, now!"

"Oh, I'm teasing you!"

"Good."

"Gods, it was such a long time ago, though. Can you believe I had a crush on Leo for a while there?"

"Okay! This conversation is over!"

Hazel grinned.

"You do know I'm only joking, right? You're it. I love you. You don't have to worry about that."

Frank grumbled mildly but took her hand.

"Yeah. I do know." He said after a while. "I love you too."

"Frank, is everything okay? You're usually okay with me ribbing you."

"Yeah, it's only just …today, I was hoping…that is…um…"

"What?"

"I mean with our service ending so soon and all, I thought maybe it was a good time to…to…"

"To what, Frank?"

"And it's our day off so we're alone, and…"

"Yeah, and?"

"Gods, you're going to hate me for doing this here…"

"Frank! What is it?"

"Hazelwillyoumarryme."

Hazel stared at him in shock, slowly processing the rushed jumble of a question.

"Frank, did you…did you just ask me to…?"

Frank's eyes were squinted shut in shame and embarrassment but he nodded.

They widened as he felt the warm force of Hazel hugging him.

"Yes, of course!"

"R-really?" Frank whispered, the tension leaving him. He gripped her back tightly.

"Oh this is so great! I can't believe that worked, I messed it all up, I had a speech, and…"

He interrupted his excited ramblings to kiss her.

"But that doesn't matter! I know my service doesn't end for almost a year, but that gives us plenty of time to-"

"Frank!"

The caretaker was calling to him, waving his snow shovel.

"Help an old man out?" He said, gesturing to a large drift of snow.

"Of course, right away!" Frank called back.

"Be right back." He told Hazel hastily, kissing her again and leaving to clear the path.

Hazel smiled, watching him go. She turned to the picture of Frank's mother, saluting and smiling wistfully from a decade in the past.

"I promise I'll take care of him for you, Ma'am. I love your son very much."

Hazel couldn't communicate with the dead like Nico, but she could swear she felt a spirit in Elysium smile.

_A/N: Frank's not going to die shut up what are you talking about._

_Ha, I hope not anyway! Thank you for reading/reviewing, ect.!_


	13. Chapter 13

Somewhere a few miles outside San Francisco, Percy dropped exhausted on a park bench, trying not to fall asleep. Unfortunately, the cheeseburger he had swiped from a picnic table when a vacationing family wasn't watching hadn't been enough. His hunger and desperation were lulling him to sleep.

He had no idea who he was or where he was going and he felt it would just be easier to fall asleep here and never wake up.

He closed his eyes and did what he always did when he started to feel this way.

He thought of the girl.

The image of the beautiful blond girl was crisp in his memory, like a photograph.

Annabeth.

It was an unusual name. He liked it. He had the impression he never called her "Anna" or "Beth" because he loved the way her full name sounded too much.

He smiled to himself and blushed as a very important part of his memory of her swam in his vision.

She kissed him.

A shiver of joy ran down his spine.

_Man, I am a lucky SOB, aren't_ _I_? He thought. _You are totally way too hot for me._

He knew she couldn't hear him from wherever she was, much less in his mind, but it somehow made him feel better to pretend he was talking directly to her.

_Wherever you are right now, I bet you're freaking, because I guess I just disappeared without any warning. Sucks. Believe me, I'm freaking, too. I just wish I could remember more about you. Us. Unless, y'know, we were breaking up or something. That would be a bummer. But I don't feel like we were. I don't know, it's just, when I think about you, I feel warm and safe and happy. I think we were happy together, but like I said, I wish I could remember for sure. Like, when did we meet? And how? Did I ask you out all cool and stuff, or did I make you do it? Have I told you I love you yet? Because I'm sure I do._

The way she whispered through laughter that he was an idiot obviously without meaning it in his memory and how passionately she kissed him made him hope she loved him too.

As he sat daydreaming, a horrible thought crossed his mind.

_Oh man, do you know I've lost my memories? Does that mean you're worried I'll cheat on you because I forgot about you? I hope you know I'd never do that! You're pretty much my one reason for going on at this point. And I think you kind of always were. _

Percy was ripped back into reality at the distinct sound of a woman offering someone free samples.

Those immortal monsters that had been following him.

He quickly palmed the pen in his back pocket and stood up to race as far away from the park as he could.

And a thousand miles away, the girl from his dreams was thinking about him too, hoping to the gods he remembered her.

_A/N: Hi everybody! It's been a while since I updated, so have some amnesia!percabeth fluff! Again, thank you all so much for reading/reviewing, it means alot to me._


	14. Chapter 14

_A/N: And now for the HOH batch of drabbles! Minor HOH spoilers in this one, inspired by Frank's character development in it. Expect a lot more in the future because there was so much great material in the book to work with. As always, thank you for reading/reviewing/ect!_

"Oh my gods Dad, was that you?"

Frank was passing the living room absently chewing an ice cream bar when his daughter Emily called to him from the sofa.

She was lounging sprawled on all three cushions flipping through an old photo album. Her helmet was draped over the home phone on the nearby end table, where it was certainly not supposed to go and caked with far more mud than was regulation.

She had just gotten off sentry duty with that new Apollo boy from her Cohort she assured her mother she didn't have a crush on, even though she had been taking more and more time getting home again after each shift.

Frank crammed the rest of his ice cream in his mouth before Emily scooted over for him to sit down, scratching the tattoo on her arm that had three gashes, for every year she had served since she was eleven.

He smiled.

"Yeah."

It was a picture of himself and Hazel a few days before Percy had ended up at their camp. Gwen had had a habit of making scrapbook photos of her Cohort members. And because their obvious feelings for each other had been a camp joke, she hadn't hesitated to take the photograph to tease them.

Hazel had been lying in the top bunk, peering over the edge at Frank who was sitting on the bottom one. They were both laughing over some joke after their guard shift as Hazel's curly brown hair cascaded in front of her face, obscuring the deep gold eyes Emily had inherited.

"You were big!"

"I'm big now!"

"I mean you were _fat_! And you look about thirteen. Weren't you fifteen when you got to camp?"

Frank pouted which looked more like a scowl on his mature face. Emily looked from her father in the present to her father in the past like it was eerie to see the two versions of him side by side.

"Yeah, well." Frank shrugged. "Grandpa's sons don't stay pudgy for long."

Emily scratched her tattoo harder. It bore a spear symbol, like her father's. When she had joined the legion, she had had to choose between her two godly grandfathers, Pluto and Mars, to identify with. Mars had far more clout, so she had ended up going with him. Which was totally unfair as far as Emily was concerned. Hadn't her mother proven Pluto's worth as a demigod of the prophesy of seven? Hadn't her Uncle Nico, who had helped them?

She wasn't taunted for her lineage like her mother was, but she still had the misgivings about it as her father did when he was young.

"Trust me, I didn't like it either." Frank said, using his dad powers to read her mind. "Heck, I didn't even believe it when he claimed me. Your mother sure didn't."

Emily grinned.

"Because you were a wimp?"

"Because I was too _nice_. The children of Mars tend to be bullies."

Emily's tattoo was nearly bleeding.

She decided to change the subject.

"Mom looks super short, too. Those statues of you guys in the Forum…in hers, she's as tall as Uncle Leo. Did the sculptor get it wrong?"

Frank laughed.

"No, the night they were finished she broke in and used the flooring to make the statue bigger. She didn't want to be remembered as the shortest. She made me promise not to tell on pain of never speaking to me again."

Emily doubled over in laughter.

"Oh my gods, really?"

"That's just what you and your mother are like. You don't let anyone else tell you who you are."

Emily looked again at her dad and the ghost of a pudgy boy who liked ice cream, was hopelessly head over heels for his best friend and was praying his father was Apollo.

She hesitated. "Mom, she…wasn't put off when you got all macho and stuff?"

"No. Because I never changed how I acted towards her."

"Really?"

"You remember that story where I had to fight those monsters to save your mom from poisoning?"

"Uh huh."

"Do you know what I did when I was done? I almost cried. I hugged your mom and didn't let go, I was so happy she was alright. I knew what the children of Mars become most of the time, and I wasn't about to let that happen to me."

Emily considered that.

"So why are you asking about that all of a sudden?"

She didn't want to admit it was because her new friend was scared of Mars kids and for some reason that made her sad. She remembered learning that and, for reasons she didn't quite understand, telling him her godly grandparent was Pluto when he had asked. He hadn't been afraid of her, which made her happy, which she didn't quite understand either.

"It's nothing, Dad." Emily said, kissing him on the cheek and getting up. "I just have to go tell someone something, that's all."


	15. Chapter 15

It was a peaceful night to a hectic day for Frank.

He was enjoying the cool breeze on the Argo after having a long talk with Jason. Everyone had turned in but he was finally relaxing after taking a death defying trial, becoming a praetor, and getting their friends out of Tartarus.

Most of all though, he was proud of Hazel. Getting the better of a giant with the Mist like that; and he had thought her calmly ending Alcyoneus' life in Alaska had been impressive.

"Hey."

He turned around to see her grinning at him, totally happy and normal, as if she hadn't just help kill a giant about five hours ago.

"Hey." He said as she joined him at the side of the ship and took his hand.

"Octavian is going to blow a gasket when he finds out you're a praetor." Hazel snickered.

"Yeah, I can't wait to order him around."

"I can't believe you led that legion though! You did a great job."

"Eh, you helped kill a giant _again_, I think your awesome feat trumps mine."

She laughed and fell silent for a moment.

"…Thank you for saving me, back in Venice."

"Of course! I'm just sorry I left you alone and let that happen."

"…And I'm sorry, you know…for how I acted."

"What do you mean?"

"You know, with Leo."

"But you didn't do anything wrong."

"Nothing wrong? Frank, I kiss you one day, and the next I'm all over a boy I just met? That's not fair to you. And I'm sorry."

Frank spluttered.

"Not fair to _me_? You're the one who got ripped out of your old life. You think I expect you to just be okay with that?"

"Well _no_, but…you could at least be mad that I…I mean you should at least be…ugh, sometimes I wish you weren't such a good person."

Frank shook his head.

"So what exactly is the problem supposed to be here? You didn't, like, kiss him."

"No, of course not!"

"And you still, y'know, wanna be dating me."

"Frank, of course I do!"

"So why should I be upset? Hazel, I get it. This is hard for you. And heck, even if you did like him, it's not like you're obligated to me."

"Uh, yeah I am. I'm kind of your girlfriend."

Frank raised his hands in front of him.

"Okay, how about this? I'll pretend to be mad, and I'll pretend to forgive you. How does that sound?"

Hazel smiled.

"I'd like that."

"There, see? Problem solved. Besides, it's not like I can blame you for not being completely over Sammy. It seems like he was a great guy."

Hazel grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah, he was." She hesitated. "But…the other day, when Arion showed up and I met Hecate…I dunno why, but I got to thinking what my happiest memory was, and it wasn't of Sammy. It was of you."

"O…oh." Frank croaked, stunned.

"And I felt real bad about that."

"Oh."

"But at the same time, I was relieved, because I think that means I finally let go. I don't think I'll ever forget him, but I think I can accept he's gone now."

"I guess I don't have to feel guilty, then."

"About what?"

"I always think how lucky I am to have met you, but I feel horrible when I do because I know it's only because you died."

"Oh Frank."

Hazel hugged him. When he hugged her back, it was the same gentle and warm embrace that made her feel safe. She buried her head in his chest in an attempt not to cry. He really hadn't changed at all and she was overwhelmingly happy about that.

"I'm glad I met you too. Yeah, not so much about the dying part and all, but _you_ definitely. You make up for it."

He looked at her so tenderly, she almost had to stop herself from crying again.

"Hey, are you cold?"

She hadn't noticed she was shivering. He hugged her for warmth which she had the feeling he had been afraid to do on their guard shifts.

"I'm okay. But yeah, it's getting chilly. We should go downstairs. Go on ahead, I'll catch up."

"You gonna be okay out here by yourself?"

Hazel rolled her eyes good naturedly.

"There are no monsters out tonight, I'll be fine."

She kissed him and she felt another surge of relief when he kissed her back as gently as ever.

When he had left she looked out into the night sky, the strong wind blowing her hair everywhere.

She drew an old, dirty, creased photo from her pants pocket. Sammy's face was still beaming from it gleefully, just the same as when it was taken, and when she had found it again in Alaska and she had secretly taken it.

Hecate had said their endeavor was at a crossroads. Maybe _she_ was too.

She wadded the photograph up and threw it like a baseball into the air, watching it catch the wind.

"Goodbye, Sam Valdez. I'll never forget you. I hope you never forgot me. Maybe we'll meet again in the Underworld, but for now I'm here and I'm happy. Considering Leo was born, I don't think you can grudge me that. But I don't think you blamed me, anyway. Just like Frank. You would have liked him. I'm sorry he's my happiest memory now, but I think Hecate was right. I _am_ at a crossroads. And I choose to move forward with him."

She watched the photo fall into the ocean and sink into the waves. She had never felt lighter.

_A/N: I loved the resolution to this love triangle in HOH. I felt it was a necessary one because Hazel was trying so hard to move past her old life, but of course you can't just do that. I think Leo, and her realizing he wasn't exactly like Sammy, was what pushed her to accept fully she'll never have that back, and finally move on from it, which is such a healthy direction for her character. Hope you liked this chapter and thank you all for reading, reviewing, ect!_


	16. Chapter 16

Vincent and Aeneas Grace were on a role.

Summer vacation had begun so their mother didn't force them to wake up at an inhumane hour to commute to the local town's high school where they were freshman from their cottage at Camp Half-Blood.

She had instead told them their father was already at the arena, teaching their sword class, and that they were to go straight there, claiming she would be spying on them with her knife.

Yeah, right.

They had gone directly to the Big House where they were determined to avoid their lessons. Summer vacation was for _vacation._

As they snickered in congratulations on dodging the Dad bullet, Chiron rolled in from his office on his wheelchair that made him seem human.

"Good morning, boys!" He said.

"Good morning, sir." Aeneas answered innocently.

"I bet you two are happy term is over. Enjoying the summer holiday?"

"Yeah." Vincent laughed.

"But aren't you boys supposed to be in combat training right about now…?"

On cue the front door burst open and a burly boy a few years older than the Grace twins marched in.

"Vince! Aeneas!"

"I thought as much." Chiron sighed.

"What are you guys thinking?" The huge boy snarled in exasperation. This was not the first time they tried this. "Do you want Director Grace to kill you?"

"Aw, what can Dad do, James? Give us more sword practice?" Aeneas asked.

"Yeah, Dad's laid back. He'll be cool with it. Honest." Vincent said smoothly.

"Well…" James began and caught himself. "None of that freaky Aphrodite stuff, Vince!"

Aeneas roared with laughter and Vincent cursed his failed charmspeak.

"Follow me _now_, you little _venti_." James huffed.

Vincent forced his hands into his shorts pockets and glared daggers at a portrait of his father hanging on the wall, among those of other distinguished campers and camp employees.

"Thanks, Pops."

Aeneas glanced at where his twin brother was directing his wrath.

"Is…that really Dad?"

The boy in the picture looked like their father in his facial features but not his spirit. In the photo he was not too much older than them, maybe a sophomore in high school, but he was severe and grim.

His hair was short and the scar on his lip looked intimidating rather than silly with his taut, unhappy expression. His SPQR tattoo was showing prominently on his arm, and even though he wore a Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, he looked far more Roman.

"Yeah, I always forget he was from Odies' camp before he met Mom." Vincent agreed.

The father they knew was always smiling, had wild and kind of long hair, and didn't go around looking emotionally constipated all the time.

"He might as well still be, he makes us practice so much." Aeneas grumbled. "Not even Uncle Percy is this hard about it. And when Emily learned how to transform, did Uncle Frank make her practice it all day? No!"

"…James, if you don't mind, go on ahead, I'll make sure the twins catch up with you." Chiron said.

"Yes, sir."

James left them alone and Chiron turned to the boys.

"What you must understand is your father was born into a hard life he did not necessarily want. When he got to Camp Half-Blood it was like he could breathe for the first time in his life. Though, I suppose, much of his Roman training remains."

Chiron's eyes were light with amusement. "As you boys have made your opinion on clear."

"I'd say he still has a _lot_ left." Vincent said.

"Would you?" Chiron asked in a way that somehow shook the boys' confidence.

They thought about the days their father would call them in sick for morning period at school so they could sleep in, and he would drive them himself. Or days he wouldn't make them go to school at all, and they would have a mini family vacation in the strawberry fields. They thought of the way he tenderly hugged or kissed their mother, still happy and in love after well over twenty years.

"I suggest you think on that. On your way to your lessons." Chiron said knowingly.

At the arena, other girls and boys their age were already gathered and partnered off, doing parrying drills.

Their father was overseeing the chaotic scraping and turned when they got near.

"Well, look who decided to show." He said, but there was a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his lips.

"C'mon, boys, everyone's paired up, so you can be my partner."

"What, both of us, Dad?" Aeneas asked.

"What, think your old man can't take both of you?" He grinned.

The twins' grins were identical to his except for the lack of their father's scar.

Late that night, Jason couldn't sleep. He decided to take a walk around camp grounds, taking his set of keys so that he could get into the Big House. He stood in the dark lounge room, listening to the clicking bugs and hooting owls in the nearby forest, having a pensive staring contest with his old portrait, bathed in moonlight.

"I thought I'd find you here."

Piper was behind him at the open front door.

"Hey, Pipes. Didn't mean to wake you." He said as she joined him.

"You didn't. I just woke up on my own and noticed you were gone so I went looking for you."

She saw what he was staring at and smiled.

"You were quite the handsome boy, weren't you?"

"I've changed a lot, huh?"

"I don't think so." Piper decided, hugging him from behind and resting her head on his shoulder. "You just stopped pretending to be something you're not, that's all."

"…I'm afraid I'm a bit too hard on the boys with their practice sometimes. It's just…when I think about how we got sucked into a war, when none of us saw it coming, when we all thought we were safe…I want them to be ready."

"They understand." Piper assured him. "Or they will. I think they're just frustrated because you're such an irresponsibly lax parent normally, they can't understand why you're so strict about this."

"Hey!" Jason protested, laughing. "I am _not_ irresponsible."

"I have it on good authority you let Vince play with Leo's power tools the last time we visited him."

"Who's?"

"Leo's."

Jason rolled his eyes. "Of course he'd rat me out."

Piper laughed. "But seriously, don't worry. They know you love them. And I think you wouldn't have been half as good a father as you are if you kept up that stoic tough guy front."

"Yeah." Jason said softly, looking again to his portrait gently illuminated by the moon. Most looked at it and saw a model stoic, strong Roman. He saw a scared little boy desperately trying to take on his role as a leader and mask his fear and unhappiness. "Long time ago, I told Nico not to hide from himself, but now I think_ I_ was doing the hiding."

"Well, I like you better this way." Piper concluded.

"Hey, Pipes?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't wake the boys for sword practice tomorrow. It won't kill them to miss a day and sleep in."

Piper grinned and whispered in a sing song voice "Irresponsible parenting!"

"Shut up."

_A/N: I love love love Jason's character development in HOH! He's finally realizing he can drop the "perfect roman" front (I mean come on, we're talking about a boy who yelled about how hot a girl was in front of the entire camp at a campfire night, how is he not the dorkiest dork to ever dork) I think him being the one to learn about Nico's secrets was significant because I think it's also commenting on the ways in which he himself hides from others. This is also super good development for his relationship with Piper because she was worried he'd dump her for a more Roman girl, and the more he shows how unroman he can be, the less she's worried about that. I think she's understanding this too because she didn't seem to find Reyna threatening at all in HOH._


	17. Chapter 17

_A/N: Thought it was about time for a Percy and Annabeth chapter again! Hope you enjoy it and thank you for reading, reviewing, ect.!_

Percy didn't know how long it had been.

Even in the safety of the Hermes shrine, he was terrified. Not so much for himself, although yes, he liked the idea of dying in the pits of hell about as much as the idea of taking Kelli to the prom.

But the thought of Annabeth dying here chilled him to the bone more than anything deadly thrown at him.

He had fallen with her with the intention of saving her, but then, what good had he been? He was so frustrated with himself. Here he was, half dying and succumbing to depression while Annabeth saved his butt at every turn and put every bit of her will into cheering him.

He glanced at her, dead asleep. His heart almost stopped realizing she _could_ be dead—who knew if the fire water she had last hadn't worn out yet?

But no, her familiar stuffy nose snoring was loud and clear in the abandoned shelter. He had slept next to her like this enough times over the years to have memorized the sound by heart.

He loved that sound.

He hoped his friends were sleeping better than them. With two less fighters, battling monsters through Italy and Greece was going to be two times as hard. At least they had Nico, but Percy was unsure if he was strong enough after days of a coma, starvation, and trying not to die of asphyxiation.

Nico. Just another person he let down. Another person who was better than him. He let Nico's sister, his only family, die. And how had Percy apologized? By barely looking twice at the kid? Meanwhile, Nico had been kind to Bob, who, like Nico, he had thrown away like trash, Percy thought bitterly.

He didn't _deserve_ Nico pulling off this favor for him.

But Annabeth did.

Percy stroked her hair (she always complained about the color, but he thought it was beautiful). He had to get her out, no matter what. She couldn't be another person he failed.

As he was lost in thought, a _poof!_ of fire burst in the shrine and a burned photograph, charring in the acidic air, flew onto the floor.

Percy picked it up.

It was a photo taken at camp right after the Titian War. Somehow, every camper had piled into the frame. Connor and Travis were being stupid, pulling faces and annoying Clarisse. Percy and Annabeth were in the front row. Annabeth was soaking wet from head to foot. Just to be annoying, he hadn't used an air bubble when they got back up out of the lake after having been thrown into it, so she had been drenched.

Someone must have taken it from Chiron's office.

He turned it over and there scrawled on the back were messages in handwriting he recognized. There was Clarisse's chicken scratch reading "Fight them!", Connor and Travis' sloppy print with

"Dad's watching over you guys, I promise."

"Maybe."

"Not helping, Travis."

And Malcolm's perfect cursive stating "You better live so I can kill you myself, you stupid Poseidon boy."

Percy gripped it tightly to his chest and whispered "Thanks, guys."

He looked at Annabeth again. It was about time he woke her so they could move forward.

They were going to be okay.


End file.
